When the goblins of the Licktoad tribe in Brinestump
Marsh discovered that one of their own could write, they
had no choice—they ran him out of town, tore down
his hut, and burned all of his stuff. Writing, after all,
is bad mojo, since it can steal words out of your head
and thus snatch away your soul. Yet while even the exiled
goblin’s name is now taboo (he’s known today only as
“Scribbleface,” after the Licktoads branded some of his
precious words onto his forehead and cheeks to punish
him for breaking custom), the wonders the goblins
found in his house were significant.
For Scribbleface had kept more secrets than his writing.
Before the rest of his belongings were claimed or
burned, the Licktoad goblins found a large trunk that
contained several items of interest. To the majority of
the tribe, it was the cache of exotic fireworks in the trunk
that was the most impressive, but to the leaders of the
tribe, it was the intriguing map (one that, fortunately,
contained no writing—only nice, safe drawings and
dotted lines). This map showed the extent of Brinestump
Marsh, including the route from the Licktoad village to
an old shipwreck near the coastline that—according to
the drawings on the map—contained many more crates
of fireworks. How Scribbleface had come into possession
of the fireworks, the map, and this knowledge in the first
place was largely irrelevant to the goblins, for if the spot
marked on the map were to indeed lead to more fireworks,
the Licktoads would be unstoppable!
Or, if not unstoppable, at least they’d be more fireworkrich!
Think of all the longshank houses they could burn
down with a big supply of fireworks!
Map
[dice=Init. Greta]1d20+3[dice]
[dice=Init. Chuffy]1d20+4[dice]
[dice=Init. Poog]1d20+6[dice]
[dice=Init. Mogmurch]1d20+4[dice]
